Chapter 7
Ali was nursing a beer at Marangos Pub. There were about twenty other patrons in the small bar. She was sitting in her usual spot towards the far end of the bar, drinking a beer and thinking about the case. The blonde – it had to be her. She’s beautiful. Wait – stay on track, Ali thought to herself. Don’t get distracted. The blonde - it had to be her. She had been at both crime scenes. Ali knew because of the hair and the traffic cameras. Of course, it could have been coincidence that a blonde woman with hair the same color that Ali had found at both locations happened to be at both locations at the exact time the targets were there, and exactly a week before they were killed, but she doubted it.
Ali took another sip of her beer and continued thinking. Hope was right. This woman was a pro. The way she carried herself, the way she avoided looking at the traffic cameras, the way she scoped out the areas, arrived slightly earlier than her targets, and then leaving just after they left. The way she waited patiently to take her shots. These were all signs of a professional. And, of course, the way she made one-shot kills at three hundred yards. That was pretty indicative of being a professional, too. She’s beautiful, Ali thought again. C’mon, Kriegs, she thought to herself again. Stay focused.
As Ali continued to think about the case, she wondered who this woman was, and why she was killing criminals. And not just any criminals. These were apex criminals in the Chicago crime underworld. To not be affiliated with any organization yet be taking on criminals of this stature - this woman must have a serious grudge, or something, Ali thought. Maybe it's personal with her. She continued thinking, and a strange musing entered her head. If I can find her, maybe I’ll put her on the payroll, Ali mused. She’s kind of doing our work for us. I mean, if I could pull the trigger on these criminals, I would, too. But, as soon as she thought about that, another thought entered her head: we’ve got process to follow, and we need to follow it. If we don’t, and we start taking matters into our own hands and pulling the trigger whenever we feel like it, we’re no better than the criminals we go after. But still, Ali thought, it would be nice to not be so mired in bureaucracy. She thought about the blonde mystery woman who seemed to be taking out crime lords on her own accord, and in a small way, Ali envied her. I understand rules and laws, she thought to herself, but still, it would be nice to have the freedom to just take care of business sometimes. And, she’s beautiful, Ali thought for the third time. Christ, Kriegs – can't you stay focused for just one minute? What is it about this woman that has me so distracted right now? She thought. Ali finished her beer and set down the bottle. She was just about to order another one, when Dave the bartender came over and put another one down right in front of her.
“I didn’t order this, Dave”, Ali said.
“No. She ordered it for you”, Dave said. He pointed to the other end of the bar. He and Ali looked over and saw no one there. "Well, there was someone there like a minute ago". Dave shrugged and went back to pouring drinks, and Ali was about to shrug it off when her eye caught a movement past the other end of the bar. She looked up and froze. There was the blonde. She was standing right near the front door, smiling and waving at her. Ali sat and stared for a moment, her thoughts swirling. The blonde – is that really her, or is my mind playing tricks on me? I’ve worked like 100 hours this week, and I’m exhausted, so maybe I’m just seeing things? But, no – it’s really her. She’s really here. What do I do? Do I draw my weapon? I'm sure she's carrying right now. If I draw my weapon, will she draw hers and fire? I know she’s a good shot. Will she get me? Will she shoot everyone else in the bar? There are innocent people in here, and I don’t want anyone to get hurt.
Ali stared for a moment longer and then started to get up. The blonde, still smiling, put up a warning finger. Ali reached for her gun, and the blonde waved her finger back and forth. Time seemed to slow down for Ali, and then, in one fluid motion, she drew her gun and yelled “Freeze!” The bar went silent. “Everybody down”, Ali screamed. Patrons hit the deck, and the blonde woman twiddled her fingers at Ali and backed out of the front door.
“Fuck!” Ali cursed. She ran towards the front door, which was swinging shut, screamed at Dave to call the cops, then kicked the front door back open and ran out. She scanned the street and saw a shadow to the left, halfway down the block. It was the blonde. She smiled and motioned to Ali to come after her, then turned the corner onto a side street. Ali charged down the block after her, then slowed up as she approached the corner. She listed hard for footsteps or any other noise, but heard nothing. She rounded the corner with her gun at the lead.
“Boo!” came a voice to her right. Ali pivoted, and as she did, she felt a strong hand grab her right arm. She felt a hand go for her gun, but she kicked out and felt the heel of her boot connect with a kneecap. Her opponent grunted and lessened her grip on Ali’s arm, and Ali shifted her position and brought her knee up to her opponent’s groin. She hit home, but the impact that the move usually had on male opponents wasn’t there, and her opponent pushed Ali’s arms down to her sides and slid behind her so she was now holding Ali from behind, controlling her arms so she couldn’t use her gun. Ali struggled, but her opponent was strong, and as Ali tried to break free, she could feel her opponent’s hot breath on her neck. “Mmmmm…you smell good”, the voice came.
Ali relaxed, and she felt her opponent relax, and when that happened, Ali, with a last ditched effort, stomped on her opponent’s foot with her heal. Her opponent cursed and let go. Ali spun around and trained her gun on her opponent. “Freeze!” she yelled, and found herself looking straight into the face of the blonde from the bar.
“Damn”, the blonde said. “All I said was that you smell good.” She started to move towards Ali.
“Freeze!” Ali yelled again.
The blonde put her hands up. “Alright, alright. I’m frozen.” She reached down and touched her foot. “Damn…did you really have to stomp on my foot?”
Ali looked at her. Her long blonde hair was down and parted to the left. She was wearing a stylish black leather vest, a grey long sleeve button down shirt, black leather pants and black boots. Ali looked her over for a moment and then said, “Hey! You were on Division Street earlier tonight!”
“I was?” the blonde asked, in mock surprise. She seemed to have recovered from me stomping on her foot, Ali thought. That was quick - I gave it a pretty good stomp. She’s tough.
“Yes! I saw you. You were wearing a fedora earlier. You were standing about a hundred feet away from me and my partners. You were smoking a cigarette and talking on your cell phone.”
The blonde made a show of thinking and then said, “Oh my God - that was me”, in mock surprise again. She started again towards Ali, but Ali kept her gun trained on her. “Look, you can lower your gun.” When Ali didn’t budge, the blonde said, “There's no need for you to hold me up, here. I’m not a threat to you.” Ali still remained on guard, so the blonde said, "Look – if I wanted to kill you, I would have already done it already.” Ali backed up three feet and kept her gun trained on the blonde. The blonde extended her right hand and said, “My name’s Ashlyn, by the way.”
“Nice to meet you, Ashlyn", Ali said without taking her hand. "You’re under arrest.”
Ashlyn sighed. “Really?” she said, and raised her eyebrows. "That’s how it's gonna go? ‘You’re under arrest’” she said, repeating Ali.
“I know it’s you”, Ali said.
“You know what is me?” Ashlyn asked.
“I know you’re the one who killed the two Italian mobsters last week, and also the three Disciples tonight.”
“Hmmm. Interesting. How do you know that?”
“Because I saw you on traffic cameras at both places the weeks before the victims were killed.”
"Wait – you saw me on traffic cameras at both places the weeks before the victims were killed, and that means that it’s me that killed these people?”
“We also found hair at each crime scene. The hair at both crime scenes was the same. Long blonde hair.”
“Oooh. Long blonde hair. Must be me, then", Ashlyn said. She stuck out her wrists to indicate that she was ready to be handcuffed. "Blonde girl ate at a restaurant and went to a club. You better take me in."
“I didn't mention a restaurant or a club."
“I watch the news,” Ashlyn paused and then said, “Special Agent Ali Krieger of the Joint Organized Crime Taskforce.”
“Give up the charade, Blondie. Like I said, I know it’s you.” Ali said in a voice full of law enforcement authority.
“Yup, it was me. I did it. Or actually, it was Professor Plum, in the dining room, with a candlestick”. Ali didn’t budge, so Ashlyn smiled and said, "C'mon - that was funny." Ali still didn't budge, so Ashlyn dropped her smile and said, “So, let me get this straight. You found blonde hair at both crime scenes. You saw me, via traffic cams, at both crime scenes, which, by the way happen to be a popular restaurant and an even more popular club. So, then it has to be me? That’s what you’re going with?”
Ali kept her gun trained on Ashlyn. “You don’t seem very frazzled right now.”
“Should I be?”
“Most people accused of a crime by a federal agent would be freaking out right about now.”
“We’ll, let’s just say I’ve been subjected to a lot worse than spending quality time with a beautiful federal agent", Ashlyn said and winked.
Ali rolled her eyes and kept her gun trained on Ashlyn. Ashlyn took a step closer, and as she did, she and Ali heard the sounds of sirens approaching. Ali looked sideways in the direction of the sirens and then said, “I’m taking you in.”
“Really?” Ashlyn said again, amused.
“Yeah, really. Do you heat those sirens? They’re coming for you, Blondie. As soon as they get here, you’re cooked."
Ashlyn thought for a second and then said, “Okay. So, let’s say you take me in. What are you going to do? Lean on me? Interrogate me? Sick that big ass brunette partner of yours on me to sweat me out? What do you think is going to happen? That I’m going to confess to being some highly trained assassin, maybe, say, ex-Army Special Forces?” Ashlyn smiled.
Ali kept her gun trained on Ashlyn. “How do you know that my theory is that you are a military trained commando?”
“Hmmmm…”, Ashlyn said. “Lucky guess?” Actually, Ashlyn had read Ali's case notes when she had hacked into the JOCT database. When Ali didn’t respond, Ashlyn said, "Oh, c’mon – that was funny too." Ali still didn’t respond, just looked over in the direction of the sirens again, so Ashlyn continued. “Okay, so, maybe I’m a ‘military trained assassin’”, she said, making quotation marks with her fingers. “Or, more likely, what will probably happen if you take me in is that you will find that I am your standard late twenties-something woman who has been living off of an inheritance that she got when her parents tragically died, and who works part time as a freelance graphic designer and computer consultant.
“We have your hair.” Ali reminded her.
“Really? You have my hair? Am I the only blonde in this city of say, ten million people?”
“I’m taking you in”, Ali said again. “We’ll test it.”
“You could”, Ashlyn said. “Or, I have another idea. You let me walk away right now, and I will contact you again. Like, soon. When we meet again, I will tell you everything I know.” Ali’s eyes widened, and Ashlyn said, “Well, maybe not everything, but a lot more than you’ll get if you take me in right now.”
Ali eyed her suspiciously. “If I let you go, how do I know you’re going to contact me?”
Ashlyn smiled. “Because, if we go that route, we can set a date right now. How about…tomorrow night?”
“Tomorrow night?” Ali repeated.
“Tomorrow night”, Ashlyn confirmed. “And…I do mean...a date.” Ali squinted her eyes, and Ashlyn raised her eyebrows flirtatiously. “Do you know where Stefano’s is? On the lakefront?”
“I’ve heard of it”, Ali said. Stefano’s was an expensive steak house in the posh Lakeview neighborhood on the north side of Chicago. It was rumored to be one of the best restaurants in the city, and proper dress was required.
“Well, let’s say 8pm there. Sound good? By the way, I'm paying, since I asked you out”, Ashlyn said and smiled. Ali didn’t answer. She still had her gun trained on Ashlyn, so Ashlyn said, “I think those sirens are getting closer. You’d better let me know now, Special Agent Beautiful.”
Ali’s eyes widened in disbelief. This woman had some nerve. Or maybe nerves of steel. “What did you just call me?”
“You heard me”, Ashlyn said and smiled. “So, what’s it gonna be, beautiful? A dinner date for both of us at a great restaurant with a beautiful woman sitting across the table, or a long and tedious night in a drab room downtown in the Federal Building? Ali blinked but didn't budge, so Ashlyn rolled on. "Think about it - if I am who you think I am, an ex-Army Special Forces-trained assassin, do you really think you're going to get me to crack?”
Ali held her position for a moment and then sighed, gave in, and lowered her gun.
Ashlyn smiled at her. She turned around, took two steps away and then stopped and turned back. “You want me to pick you up? We can make it like a real date.”
Ali looked at her, incredulous. “Really, Ashlyn?”
“Why not?” Ashlyn asked. She paused for a moment and then asked, “When’s the last time you were even on a date, Special Agent Beautiful?”
“W-w-what?” Ali stammered. “W-w-wait, that’s none of your business.”
“Oooh”, Ashlyn said and smiled slightly. “I didn’t mean to hit a nerve. I mean, I'm not saying you're not...you know... I mean, there's probably tons of women who'd love to go out with you, but, well, you work in law enforcement, and that means long hours, so there's probably not much time for dating, huh?” Ali didn't say anything, so Ashlyn smiled sympathetically and said, “It’s been a while for me, too.”
Ali stared at her for a moment, flustered, and then said, “Whatever. You can’t pick me up. You don’t even know where I live.”
“1725 South Halsted Street, Apartment 2?” Ashlyn asked and smiled slightly.
“Wait – h-h-how do you know that?” Ali asked in disbelief.
Ashlyn cocked her head. The sirens had stopped, and she could see flashing lights reflecting off the windows of the corner store. “Well, I should be going. How’s this – for our first date, tomorrow, I’ll just meet you there. I can pick you up for the next one.” She looked at Ali, who was staring at her, incredulous. Ashlyn smiled at her and then took a step towards her. Ali instinctually raised her gun, and Ashlyn put her hands up in a pacifying gesture. Ali relaxed, and Ashlyn stepped closer. She smoothly placed her hand over Ali’s hand that was holding the gun. She held it there for a second, and then moved her finger lightly over Ali’s wrist. She felt Ali’s hand start to relax, and she gently took the gun from Ali’s hand, staring into her eyes the whole time. She brought up Ali’s gun in her hand, and in one smooth move ejected the magazine and ejected the round in the chamber, catching it as it fell. She held the magazine and the round in her right hand, then twirled the gun around in her left hand and handed Ali back her gun, grip-first, with no bullets. Ali’s mouth dropped open, momentarily awestruck by the smoothness of the move, and as she took her gun back, Ashlyn leaned in and planted a kiss on Ali’s open mouth. They stood there, pressed together for a moment, and then Ashlyn pulled back. Ali stood there, speechless. Ashlyn smiled slightly, and then took her finger and touched it lightly to Ali’s lips. “Goodnight, Special Agent Beautiful”, she said softly. “See you tomorrow at 8. Dress nice.” Ashlyn turned and walked about five feet and then turned back. Ali was still staring at her in disbelief. Ashlyn smiled at Ali, and then threw her the magazine and the round that had been in the chamber. Then she winked at Ali, blew her a kiss, and disappeared into the darkness.